Wu wore 200k of crystals to the movie premiere

At Tuesday’s premiere of the new movie Crazy Rich Asians, star Constance Wu came to slay in a silk tasseled gown covered with Swarovski crystals that were valued at $200k.

Page Six says just constructing the Ralph & Russo gown for Wu took 275 hours to attach the crystals and 490 hours to do the hand-embroidery. Ralph & Russo, a favorite of Meghan Markle, are the people behind her engagement dress.

Wu’s stylist Micaela Erlanger said that this dress ticked all of the boxes for the Crazy Rich Asians premiere.

“In history, tassels have almost always been a symbol of power and prestige, not to mention they make for a glamorous detail. This movie is so important for so many reasons, and I felt that Constance should look both powerful and glamorous.”

And it wasn’t just the dress that was shimmering for Wu as she was adorned with some top shelf jewelry including 90 carats’ worth of Lorraine Schwartz diamonds. Erlanger explains that she didn’t want Wu to come in character, but she wanted her to reflect the style of the movie.

“The film is based around both luxury and fashion, making a couture red-carpet moment all the more perfect for the world premiere.”

The long-awaited movie stars Wu (best known for her role in the sitcom Fresh Off The Boat) as Chinese-American professor Rachel Chu who travels to Singapore with her boyfriend and finds that his family is very wealthy and largely judgmental.

Vogue says that Erlanger believed that only couture was going to do for the Crazy Rich Asians premiere, and she knew that the Ralph & Russo gown was a contender for Constance Wu when she saw it on the Paris runway.

“Every detail and the craftsmanship of this couture piece just felt right.”

Crazy Rich Asians is the first major Hollywood film in 25 years to have all Asian-American leads, and so the statement Erlanger wanted to make for Wu was important. Wu’s co-star Henry Golding wore a pastel tuxedo, and so she wanted to coordinate subtly with pale pink diamond earrings.

“The gown itself is such a statement, but we really wanted to complete the look with the perfect accessories. Constance is fearless! She approaches each fitting with an open mind. She has been really collaborative and just loves having fun with fashion.”

Crazy Rich Asians opens in wide release everywhere later this month and already has gotten great reviews.